Originally posted by Dendro
I don't snub my nose at all predictions but the one made on this thread was ridiculous and overblown. DOW Jones = Megaquake?!?!

Still sticking with that over-generalization I see. It was never a formula of "Dow Jones = Megaquake"

DETAILS:

1) This thread was about a perception that God used the stock market to reveal a sign that the global economy would collapse from an earthquake in the
United States. That shouldn't be difficult to understand.

2) Your statement pretends that the "evidence/facts" I stated did not exist. Yes it was a fact that the stock market closed down a record 777 points
on the feast day of Angels. Yes that 777 drop could be seen as the start of the economic collapse. Yes the stock market experienced a factual second
pivot point off a 12-year low of 666 on the S&P500. Yes a 3rd pivot point looked to occur 777 days after the "666" on Good Friday. Yes I can
associate the number 666 with the devil and 777 with God/Trinity. Yes I can associate the downward sign of 777(God) with collapse of global economy.
And the upward movement directly starting off 666(devil) with the "countering of God's plan to collapse the economy." Yes I had enough correlations to
associate Good Friday with earthquakes USA. Yes I prayed and had a dream that pinpointed March 9th in relation to a future economic collapse I
expected in April, yes that same dream pinpointed April 14th in relation to a future materialization of the Fatima Prophecies. Yes other coincidences
occurred. Yes I feel played like a fiddle. Yes effected by the craziness I passed on the craziness to others. Yes the things I stated had room for
debate but only a couple of people attempted to discuss the details.

I don't need someone telling me I had no right to start this thread on a forum about predictions. If I truly believed I was right based on the
perceived "signs and evidence" I would do it all again in the future.

Skeptics are allowed on the board, no? Or was this a believer-only website? Maybe we should check the T&C and see what it says about skepticism.

I don't post often at all in this section of the forum but I have a vested interested in it seeing as I'm studying Cultural Anthropology and
practices of Divination are a main part of most societies/cultures/communities religious/political systems. I don't snub my nose at all predictions
but the one made on this thread was ridiculous and overblown. DOW Jones = Megaquake?!?! At least with the Zande people a dead chicken (no) versus a
live chicken (yes) gives a definitive answer either way when they practice.

Historically, you will find many examples of people killing themselves/liquidating assets based on someone's false prediction. One only has to look
back as far as 1999 with the Y2K bug or the 1975 edition of The Watchtower.

What if someone took the OP's word to heart? Especially the part where he bawls to his brother about how the world was going to end? Reading through
the posts of some people on this board, they are quick to panick with little to none of the details. One poster from my section of the country
abandoned his apartment and went East because of the predictions of nuclear fallout from Japan. While the board as a whole cannot take responsibility
for some people jumping the gun with their fears as posters we have a responsibility to, yes, share our knowledge with fellow members if we are privy
to it but to also protect them with the content we post and how we post it. Like I said, if even 1 person believed with all their heart that the OP
was right and did something drastic about it, it would fall solely onto his or her shoulders.

Being a skeptic is one thing but you went way past that. Why not give yourself and your crusade, and us all a break.

Originally posted by hueyfreeman77
it is now may 17th. and nothing has happened.. but harold camping predicted the world will end may 22 because jesus is coming back that day. so will
have to wait and see.

Yeah we have to wait because the bible gets everything perfectly correct
with no contradictions.

I think ppl need to wake up and realize that Constantine at the first council of Nicea
basically rewrote the bible and told all the bishops to get on the same page and
make it a state religion.

I wish there was a way to thumbs down posts. Here and on Facebook. The Bible does not contradict itself. If you really cared to know the truth, you
wouldn't just want to argue about it on an unrelated message board. You'd read the Bible, pray for guidance (can't hurt if there's no God, right?)
and do some in depth research. Your soul is worth it.

More on topic, though, I'm glad the OP took the courage to warn everyone. Thank you for caring about others enough to take such a risk, OP

And
hey, maybe you were just a few days off.

If the world ends and God and Jesus are who the Bible says they are, will you be saved? I know where I'm going and have zero fear of the world
ending tomorrow. It's a pretty good feeling.

"Now we believe, not because of thy speaking: for we have heard for ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Savior of the world"
(John 4:42).

"And we have believed and know that thou art the Holy One of God." (John 6:69)

"I know him whom I have believed." (2 Timothy 1:12)

"Now we believe, not because of thy speaking; for we have heard for ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Savior of the world"
(John 4:42).

"These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that
ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." (1 John 5:13)

The Bible tells us that knowledge is an integral part of faith, and that faith is not merely an "educated guess" or unfounded assumption.

First, we have to define faith in order to debate about it. For those opposing Christianity, faith is considered "the power of believing what you
know isn’t true," or "an illogical belief in the occurrence of the improbable." Even reputable dictionaries suggest that faith is a "firm belief
in something for which there is no proof," or "belief without need of certain proof." Ultimately, improper concepts of faith, such as these, damage
or destroy the effectiveness of Christianity. This is because:

1.) For someone to suggest that Christianity, or the life-altering changes it ushers in, is based on little more than an unproven assertion (that
might or might not be true) could obviously never be viewed as a rational approach that would be aplauded by intelligent people.

2.) People in the world who are not yet Christians, yet whom we hope to see become Christians, are smart enough to see through a ruse that asks them
to "act like" they know God exists, to "act like" they know Jesus is His Son, or to "act like" the Bible is His inspired Word when, in fact,
they do not know those things at all. And if Christians simply "act like" they know, when in reality they don't, why are they not hypocrites?

3.) And how is the Christian -- who eventually will have to admit that he or she doesn't really know these things -- any different from the agnostic
who readily admits that he can't know these things?

4.) And any idea which suggests that faith is based on mere "probability" is at the same time admitting that there is some probability that
Christianity might just be false.

Have you ever heard someone use the term "leap of faith"? That is an example of something that is NOT Biblical faith.

Is faith belief? Yes, faith is a kind of belief. So, what kind of belief is biblical faith? Belief refers primarily to a judgment that something is
true. But belief may be weak or strong. If I say, "I believe it may rain tomorrow," that is an example of a weak belief. It is an opinion I hold
which, while I hope is true, and thus believe to be true, is nevertheless one that I cannot prove. However, if I say, "I believe the guilty verdict
in the criminal's trial is correct and just," that is an example of a strong belief because I am able to present factual reasons for my belief,
based upon available evidence. So, strong belief is a rational act based upon adequate evidence. Weak belief is produced by such things as emotion,
vested interest, etc.

Biblical faith is a strong belief based upon adequate evidence. In the New Testament, the noun "faith" (Greek, pistis) is defined as: "primarily
firm persuasion, a conviction based upon hearing... used in the New Testament always of faith in God or Christ, or things spiritual" (Vine, 1940,
2:71). The verb "believe" (Greek, pisteuo) is defined as: "to be persuaded of, and hence, to place confidence in, to trust... reliance upon, not
mere credence" (Vine, 1940, 1:116). Biblical faith is a conviction based upon evidence, and is "not mere credence." The Bible does not recognize
any such concept as a "leap of faith," because biblical faith is always evidence -- or knowledge -- based.

Faith is directly linked to knowledge. Without knowledge (i.e., evidence), it is impossible to produce faith. And knowledge is critical in making
faith active. The Scriptures make it clear that the following can be both known and believed: God (Isaiah 43:10), the truth (1 Timothy
4:3), and Christ's deity (John 6:69; 4:42). Further, knowledge always precedes faith, and where there is no knowledge there can be no biblical
faith.

God's wish is for "all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:4). It is His intent that we "grow in the
grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18). Through such knowledge, upon which faith is ultimately built, we know that we
are saved (1 John 5:13). The Lord's promise was: "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). Because God has
made the truth so plain, and so easily available, those who reject it shall stand ultimately "without excuse" (Romans 1:20).

I have faith because I know. I know because I have evidence. It's up to each individual to examine the evidence for themselves. I can't do it for
you. This is why I was saying it takes some research and that your soul is worth it. But, just like some people on a jury may say the defendant is
guilty, and then others on the same jury with the same evidence may find the defendant innocent, some people might see the evidence and still not
believe. I'm just saying there's enough scientific evidence out there to build a case.

Sorry to derail the thread, everyone. If anyone would like to talk to me about this further, I'm available by U2U

I'm no expert (just a young
female college student), but I'll try to help. Thanks for the opportunity to discuss this, thedeadtruth! Take care

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